Button-stapling machine.



o. W. NUNN. BUTTON STAPLING MACHINE. I APPLICATION FILED JAN.21', 1914. L l 32, l 1 2a l Patented Mar.16,1915.

M am@ o. W. N'UNN. BUTTON STAPLING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED JAN.21.191-}. 1,1 32,1 12. Patlented Mar.16,1915.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

0. W. NUNN.

BUTTQN STAPLING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 21, 1914.

Patented Mar. 16, 1915.

4 sHEBTssHEET s.

0. W. NUNN.

BUTTON STAPLING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED IAN. 21, 1914.

LSQJ `Patented Mar. 16,1915. i

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4L Mnese f 'i /HVe/Ifor www I 0170/1 MMI/1N.

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i NUNN, F DENVER, GLOl-ADO, Q.SSIG-NOR T0 LAN'DIS MACHNE GOMEANY, QF STI., LQUIS, MISSOUR, A CORPORATION OFMISSOURI.

BUTTON-STAPLKING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters atent.

lotented Mor. 3l.

To m 'whom tif/nay concern.'

Be it known that l, Union -W NUNN, o citizen ci' the United States, residing :it the City of Denver, county of Denver, ttute of Colorado, have invented a certain new and useful improvement in Button- Stapllng Machines, of which the following is e full, clear, ondA exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the ort to- .which it oppe bains to molte and use the saine, reference being had to the' accompanying drav'vings, forming part of this specification, in wliiclinire l is o side elevation of my iind stupling machine. Fig. 2 is o. secm .ci elevation tolien on line Q--Qvof l. is c side View oif the button containern e is e. detail plan View of portions of is o Vertical section of the seine tolte-n ine 55 of Fig. 6 is o. 'vertical section on line 6 6 ot'v Fig. 4:. Fig. 7 plan View partly in section of the entire machine. l? 8 is o detail front View illustrcting portions oi the Wire und button feed ing und holding mechanism. Fig 9 is sectional elevation on line 8 8 oi? L Fig. lll is detail side View lookinget the left hond side oit the infichine. Fig. ll is 'ection teiten on line ll-l of Fig, l0.

l2 s detail of o. button tube.

My invention relates broadly to shoe inocliinery, und inore specilicully to un nnproved machine for stopling ,buttons onto shoes.

The nincliine is oi" that design wherein Wire is cuL from o continuous strand, ized to u button which is guided to proper po# sition, shaped into o. staple, und i'inully driven and clenched.

rfhe particular object of iny invention is to provide u machine having' an improved feeding und feed regulating device Whereliy the Wire will he fed so long as buttons are in proper position to receive the seine, but will not be fed unless there is o button in proper position. The purpose of this is to prevent Jr-.iste owvire und injury-to e. shoe by uselessly driving in it staples Wit out buttons.

ifi further object of iny'invention is to provide an improved button und wire hold ing arrangement wherebyr the button shall-l be held in proper .position to he engaged by Wire cutting and driving ineenunisrn.`

the Wire5 and the Wire held in proper position for cutting, shaping and driving.

With these und other objects, which herci-ngilter will loe pointed out or obvious, in View, it will be understood that iny inrention contemplates a. suitable buse l which may be supported on any proper support 2, und which provides attachment und support i'or brackets Ll. Upon brackets el is supportl ed nslotted track 'our 5 in which operates e suitable carriage 6. Upon the carriage 6 ure carried journal plates 7 in which is journaled shaft S'. The shaft 8 provides a' support for suitable cylinders 9 of n particular `:forni which uct as contziiners lo?v buttons and lieve special features which operate to feed the buttons to other mechanism. is Will be best understood by reference' to Figs. 2, 3 and 7, the journal plates 7 not closures for one end of eocli of the cylinders.I While the other end of cli of tlie cylinders is open.

The cylinders ore mounted for rotary moueinent on shaft 8 independently ci one :inothern tlie mounting being by ineens of a journal supported 1oy suitable Webs ll :from the inner Walls of the cylinders. Adjacent its open side, euch cylinder is provided with. zi series of Yunes or feeding bucliete 'lf2 which curve inwardly from the open end of the cylinder. About the per-` imeter of eucli cylinder ore provided teeth:

E4. hy ineens o1" which the cylinder is rotated. llllien the cylinder contains shoe buttons, rotation thereof causes tlieyunes or buckets to pick up the buttons und i'eed tlieni, toward 'the open end* of the cylinder, nieunufhile 'carryingvtheni upwardly with the rotation of the cylinder and discharging them when they have been elevated to on extent seineu'hat post the horizontal exis of the cylinder.

'Mounted on the carriage adjacent the open end of each cylinder7 is a. guide tube l5 .'whicli is inclined downwardly and orins e .conduit for buttons trom the cylinder to the driving mechanism. flfhe bottoni Woll of this guide tube is slotted to receive the eyes of the shoe buttons, und Where it crosses the end olf the 'cylinderit is open at the top for u port of the wey, us is best illustrated in Figs. 2 and The slot l5 of the bottom Wall isy continuous across the cylinder. turning plate 1.5 is placed over the bottom Woll of the guidetube, and adjacent the end ci the same, the said Wall is narrowed by loo having a portion 15b thereof cut out adjacent the open end of the cylinder. As the buttons lifted by the vanes are thrown out onto the open portion. of the guide tube, they slide down toward. the -end of turning plate 16. Such buttons as are sliding with' their eyes in slot 15a will pass under turning plate 16. Such as slide downward in other.` positions, will not be able to pass underneath turning plate 16, andv will be defiected by the oblique end thereof oif'of the guide tube at the cut out place 15", and lwill fallback into the cylinder. Thus, all buttons which are fed to the stapling mechanism ywill be vpresented in the same position, to wit, with their eyes downward and the .openings of -the eyes sidewise or transversely ofthe guide ably closed by stop latches V2,19 which may be swung down-to prevent buttons sliding out'.

All of the cylinders with their guide tubes,

and the supply tubes, being 'mounted upon the traveling carriage, any one ofthe guide tubes or supply tubes may be positioned so vthat it will feed buttons to the handling tube by simply shifting the carriage in the keyway of the trackbar f5. v'1n/the keyway isv positioned a pin 21 which is operable -by lever 22 against the influence ofspring 24,

which pin is adapted to coperate withthe openings 25 in the carriage to secure the car- .riage in proper position with the selected guide or supply tube in register with the .handling tube.

As will be understood by reference to Figs.

' 9, 10, and' 11, the handling tube 18 is equipped withl a selecting mechanism adapted to feed the buttons one ata time to the driving mechanism. This selecting .mecha-1 nism comprises a pair of pallets 26 and 26 and these areoperated by a throwing cam 27 so that they are interposed alternately in the path of buttons in thenhandling tube 18. The pallets 26 and 26 are spaced apart, a" distance suitable for the reception of a single button, the result of which disposal and their alternatel operation is to select and feed one button at a time. The lower end of the handling tube 18 is open and is provided with a pair of antennae 28,;which are of44 spring metal and which operate to hold the button in position to have the wire fed through the eye thereof, andwhich operate to retain the button in its position until it .is

forcibly withdrawn from them in the driving'operation. ,f The handling tube 18 is supported on a frame 29 carried on the base l, and a por' tion of this frame also formsthe horn 30 in which is carried ananvil 31.v Anvil 81 is adjustable by screw .33 toward and from the driver for the purpose ofv providing for dierent thicknesses of leather and insuring proper clenching. In the frame 29 is jour-y naled the driving shaft32. Driving shaft 32 has another bearing 34also supported on the base 1. Rotation of driving sha-ft 32 is accomplished by operation of the treadle 35 which draws down bar 36 against the iniuence of the strong spring 37. The upper end of bar 36 is connected to the crank arm 38-'which is pinned to driving shaft 82, so that downward movement of bar `36 rotates driving'shaft 32 toward the front of the machine. Driving shaft 82 carries a disk cam 89 which operates a lever 40 -pivoted at 41 on the bearing 34. The lever 40operates a shuttle bar 42 which reciprocates -.longi tudinally inl the bearings 42- and carries at its left hand. end a tension device 44. The

tension device 44'frictionally engages 'wire' carried on the spool 45 to feed it to the cut'- ters and the driver. The wire is fed through ahole 46 in a guide frame 47 just below the end of handling tube 18 and in line with the opening of the eye of a button B held by the antennae 28. The end of the wire abuts againstthe side of a guide frame47a. A.

cutter and former operates between guide i c frames 47 and 47 1, the same being best illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5. This cutter and former has' the vlegs 48 and48a which slide onL guide frames 47 and 47El respectively. The edge of the leg-48, coperating with the edge of the'hole 46 in the guide frame 47, operates to shear off the length of wire measured between the inside of guide frame 47 and' guide frame 47a. Grooves 48 formed in the ends and inner faces of legs 48 and 48avengage the length of wire cut oif and hold it in proper position while it is being shaped over a mandrel 49 by the continued forward movement of legs 48 and 48a which pass on either side of mandrel 49 and bend the wire about'the same, vthus forming a staple having its points directed toward the.

anvil 31 and having the buttonstrung on' the curved' cross-piece connecting the legs of the staple. The mandrel 49 is then withdrawn from the path `of the staple, the

staple meanwhile being held by ltheA notches 48. `After the mandrel 49 is withdrawn,

los

the legs 48' and 48a carry the staple,together 'rapidly and drives. and clenches the staple.

meente rlfhe middle portion of the end of the driver 50 is hollowed out to accommodate the eye of the button. These several operations-are accomplished on the downward stroke of the treadle. When the treadle is permitted to return under the influence of the heavy spring 37, the driver 50 is first withdrawn, followed by the shapers 48 and 48a and then the mandrel v49 is raised into its elevated position. At almost the end of the upward stroke. of the treadle, the shuttle bar 42, which is retracted at the first downward movement of the treadle, returns'leftwardly feeding a new length of wire through the wire hole 46. rlhe mechanisms by which these various movements of thelshapers, the driver and the mandrel are accomplished will be best understood by reference to Figs. 2, 4, 5 and 6. r

in suitable bearings-in frame 29 slide the rack bars 5l to which are secured a yoke 52. Formed integral with this yoke 52 is a slotted bearing portion 54, and to this bearing portion is secured the driver 50. Consequently, upon forward or downward movement of the racks 5l, the driver 50 comes downward and drives the staple. As is best shown in Fig. 6, the yoke 52 and bearing portion 54 are slotted to accommodate the slidable bars 55 which carry at their lower ends the shaping members 48' and 48a and which are at their upper ends connected to a bracket 56. This bracket 56 is secured to lower rack 'bars 57 which slide in suitable bearings in frame 29. By virtue of these connections, it will be understood that while rack bars 57 travel downwardly, they carry with them the shaping members 48 and 482, which, as above described, operate to cut oli' and shape the wire 'about the mandrel 49 and then carry the staple with its button into driving position. Mounted on shaft 32 at either side of frame 29 are irregular pinions `58 each having a series of teeth 58a which coperate with one of rack bars 5l, and a series of teeth 58b which coperate with oneof rack bars 57. The relationship is such that rack bars 57 are actuated before rack ba-rs 5l are, and there-y fore, shaping members 48 and 48a are actuated before the driver 50. One of pinions 58 carries atripping lug 59 which, on forward rotation of shaft 32, rocks rocking cam 27 to release the button held between pallets 26 and 26; so as to permit its sliding down to position between antenn 28. Upon reverse movement of shaft 32 and rack 51, rocking cam 27 is returned so as to raise pallet 26 and lower pallet 26 by a pin 5l which is carried on one ofrack bars 5l. The mandrel 49 is lowered and raised by a pair of tripping lingers 60 and 6.0l which are carried onoperating bar 36. These tripping fingers vcoperate with one arm .61a of a 135' bell crank which is pivoted to the base l at 6l, and the other arm 6l 3 of, which is connected to mandrel 49 by a pair of links 62. Upon downward movement of operating bar 36, tripping linger 60 engages the arm .forms a stop which prevents 4the transmission to the mechanism of violent thrusts occasioned by the forcible return of bar 36'. To one of pinions 58 is pivoted one end of a link 64, the other end of which is pivotedto a bell crank 65. The bell crank is pivoted on the frame at a and has its, other arm pivoted to a dog 66 mounted on frame 63 by a slot and pin connection. The nose of dog 66 is adapted to coperate with the teeth 14 of the cylinder positioned 'to feed buttons to handling tube 18, and 'upon forward rotation of shaft 32, link 64 and bell crank 65 push dog 66 upwardly so that it engages one of teeth 14 and rotates the cylinder a few degrees.

in Figs. 8 and 9 is illustrated a controlling device fcr the wire feeding operation. lt will be understood that the tension device 44 .does not tightly clamp dre, but simply engages it frictionally so as to feed it forward through the opening 46 when passage of the wire therethrough is not ohstructed. YWhen the wire is held against movement in either direction, the tension device 44 slides upon it without feeding it. The means which prevents the retraction of wire on the back stroke of the shuttle bar 42 is the detent 68 which is pivoted on the support of the handling tube and has va toothed end 68"i adapted to contact with the wire. rThe teeth are directed in the direction of travel of the wire so 'that they do not engage the wire in its forward feeding movement, but, bite into the wire when it tendstomove backward. This detent 68 is spring pressed into engagement with the wire by a leaf spring 69. This prevents the wire being retracted upon the rearward stroke of shuttle bar 42.

Means is provided for preventing the forward feeding of the wire, if, for 'any reason, a button is not in position between the antennae 28 before the beginning ofthe forward movement of' shuttle bar 42. The purpose of this is to prevent wire beingfed, and` a staple formed and driven without carrying a button. .This means comprises a stop lever 7 0 which isf piv/oted at 7l and has a laterally projecting lug 72 between its lower end and its pivot point, which lug is pressed downward by a leaf spring 74. The tendency of the .pressure of leaf spring 74 onlug 72 is to swing the lower end of lever 70 1ts lower end beveled ofi to form a cam face.

f Shapers 48 and 48 to be driven.

the device shown and described, may be lmade, without departing from the spirit of my invention, and therefore, it is not my intention that my invention be construed as limited'to the specific form shown.

What I claim is:

downward'. ,Stop lever .70 has a button enaging finger-B and a stop finger 7 0b. The ormer lies in Ithe path of buttons fed to the antenn 28, and the latter is adapted to swing downward across the wire opening 46 so as to close thel same. A sliding pin is seated in the support of .feeding tube 18, and its upper endv75-coperates with lug 7 2 a on lever 70. The lower end of pin 75 lies mechanism, and staple forming and driving in the path of one of rack bars 51 which has mechanism, a wire feed controlling device, certain operations of which are controllable Upon the downward stroke of rack "bars 51, by a button fed to the forming mechanism, this cam face engages sliding pin 75'and lsaid device including means adapted to en.- pushesit upward, thereby raising the lower gage the. Wlre for preventing Wire being feel end of lever 7 O.A 'Ihis releases the button by the Wire feeding mehenism When n0 butheld under the button engaging finger `70a 130D has been fed. permitting it to be carried away-bythev ft2. In a button stapling machine, the com- Until nearly the end of the upward movement of rack hars 5]., lever 7 0 is thus held elevated, permitting a new button to befed. to posifor controlling thewire feed, the operation tion between antennae 28. If no-biltton has of 'said' device being dependent upon the been fed to Such position, lever` 70 having presence of a button in position to bestapled. nothing to stop it Will swing downward to 3. In a button stapling machine, the comthe full extent of its movement, which will bination ofl button feeding mechanism, wire interpose stop finger 70 in front of the wire feeding mechanism, forming and driving opening 46. Consequently, upon the subse-4 mechanism, and a stop device rendered inq'uent forward movement of shuttle bar 42, operable by the button in driving position the wire will not be fed into the path of the and adapted to engage the wire to prevent cutters and Shapers 48 and 48a, and therethe wire feeding operationwhen no button fore, no staple will be formed and driven is inv driving position. at that operation of the machine. This pre- 4. In a button stapling machine, the comvents wasteof wire and time', and injury to 'bination of button feeding mechanism, wire the shoe by uselessly driving staples withfeeding mechanism, and a stop device adaptout buttons. ed to engage a button fed by the former and It will be understood that the cylinders 9 with wire handled by the latter. are interchangeable, and that thebutton sup- 5. In a button stapling machine, the comply tubes 17 are interchangeable, so that bination'of button feeding mechanism, wire various kinds or sizes of buttons may be feeding mechanism, and a stop device adaptused, filled tubes or cylinders of the various ed to engage a button fed by the' former or kinds of buttons being kept ready Yfor use wire handled by the latter, the engagement so that they may be substituted when desired. The cylinders are placed on the machine by unscrewing the shaft 8 and withdrawing .it to an extent sufcient to permit bination of button feeding mechanism, wire the removal and insertion of a cylinder. Or feeding mechanism, means for holding a but- -a cylinder may be slipped on at the end of ton while wire is being'i'nserted through the shaft 8. The supply tubes 17, -as illustrated eye thereof by the latter, a stop device adaptin Fig. 12, are mounted on depending lugs` ed tol engage a button held by .said means, 13 which have apertures which are slipped and means'for rocking said stop device into over the end of shaft 8, and notches which and out of engagement with buttons fed sucengage pins 23 on carriage 6 to holdV i button feeding mechanism, wire feeding feeding mechanism, and a device adapted to be interposed in the path of the wire engagement with the wire.

cessively'tousaid holding means, said stop the tubes in proper position. It is obvious device having a portion adapted to hold the that instead of depending upon the journal wire to prevent the feeding of wire by said plates 7 as closures for lthe cylinders, the wire feeding mechanism. cylinders may be formed with one end 7. In a button stapling machine, the comclosed. a bination of button feeding mechanism, wire From the foregoing, it will bev obvious that feeding mechanism, including a reciprocatmy invention comprises an improved form ing Wire engaging member, a button holding ofbutton staple forming and driving ma- 'means adapted to hold a button in position chine employing a novel form of button to're'ceive wire from said wire feeding mechand wire feeding and controlling mechaanism, and a stop member adapted to prenism, and a novel and improved arrangeventthe feeding of wire by said wire feeding ment of operating parts. mechanism while permitting reciprocation I am aware that various modifications in of the latter, said stop member having a por- 1. In a button'stapling machine including bination of button feeding mechanism, wire of said device with a button precluding its 6. In a button stapling machine, the comtion adapted to engage e button held by said holding means for the purpose described.

8. In e button stnpling machine, the combination of button feeding mechanism, a

" Wire feeding mechanism adapted to feed Wire intermittently, and a stop device Whose operation is controllable by e button in setting position; said stop device being 'operable to prevent feed of the Wire during a feeding movement of the vv ire feeding mechanism.

9. l'n a machine of theclass described, the combination. ofen intermittent Wire feeding mechanism, a stop device adapted to prevent feed of the Wire during a feeding movement 15 of the feeding mechanism, and a lbutton feeding mechanism adapted to feed buttons to inhibit the operation of seid stop device. In testimony whereof l hereunto efx my signature in the presence of two Witnesses, 20 this 15th day of December, 1913.

ORON W. NUNN.

Witnesses @MON W. HENNING, EDWARD S. CnAWFoRD. 

